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Bored

26 Nov

M2 claimed that her pet Betta, Svetlana is bored. Bored because the other surviving Betta, my Bubles, has been relocated to the water trough of the water feature wall for its safety. Bubles would not survive if it joined the big boys in the pond. So Svetlana is now all alone in the little aquarium.

Hubby actually feared for Bubles’ life as it looked traumatised and half dead on more than one occasion. Remember the other two Bettas? They didn’t live pass a week old with the Russian killer around.

We have a bored killer Betta all alone and probably a bored Betta under witness protection, all alone too. What do we do?

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The Russian Killer

9 Nov

When you see a name like Svetlana, one would think ‘Russian’ then ‘spies’, ‘KGB’ and all the intriguing spy plots. Typical stereotype profile. So when you have a fish name Svetlana, it is no different. 

M2’s pet Betta, Svetlana has been labelled the ‘Russian Killer’ because  hubby’s Finney and M1’s yet-to-be-named-Betta were all bitten by her! Their demise was quick and in succession. My Bubles survived the attack thankfully. For how long more, we don’t know.
It looks like we may have to buy another batch of Bettas and pray that Svetlana won’t take them out.

Tough being a fish with a Russian killer around.

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What to Name Your Fish

15 Oct

With the new aquarium and four new fishes, we were at a loss what to name them as we decided to give the name ‘Bob’ a rest. M2 and I separately checked out websites for ideas; she at bettafishhome.com and I at cuteness.com. My site had 100 popular names for fish and incidentally, Bob IS on the list too, sitting at number 42.

It’s hilarious what we found. In the end, she named her Betta, Svetlana (chortle!) as if it’s Russian or Eastern European when most Bettas are usually Asian especially from Thailand, hence Siamese. 

I decided to go with a less exotic name, Bubles and hubby named his, Finney. The fourth fish remains unnamed. Perhaps we will Skype with M1 for suggestions.

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New Pets Again!

13 Oct

Remember the aquarium we had and a fish called Bob Clayton? Then post-Bob era, all the fishes died? Well, we left the aquarium just filled with only water for the longest time and M2 reminded us that we had pet water.

Over the weekend, the status finally changed! Hubby bought some new fishes; this time some pretty looking Betta, otherwise known as fighting fish and the four new residents are enjoying their new home.

I just hope they last longer than the previous tenants. No decision yet whether to call them Bob or not though.

  

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Catching Up

6 Aug

As I was leaving the house this morning, I bumped into my old neighbor who happened to come by to supervise the cleaning up of her now vacated home. She informed me that she will be getting new tenants and I am glad because it’s been too quiet. It was good to catch up and compare notes on our children and life in general.

Who knows? Maybe the new neighbor will have a couple of cockatoos and a dog? We will find out in two weeks’ time.

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Goodbye

31 Jul

Our neighbor has moved. After a year renting the house next door, the family has gone back to their home country, England and it’s been very quiet the last two days.

Every now and then, their ever curious black and white cat would coolly saunter into our living room because we always leave the back door open at the terrace. The other prima donna cat stays indoors so we hardly see it. Then there’s the beagle, Jasper. He would look at us forlornly whenever he’s out and sees us playing with our dog, Rooney, in our back garden. Poor Jasper, he looks as though he lacks playtime and a play mate.

Our favorites are the cockatoos. Every morning, we can hear their chirps and chatter and every evening, when we come home, they would greet us ‘Hello…’. Sometimes they even amuse by calling out ‘Jasper…’ or imitating their masters.

The last two mornings when I awoke, silence. No birds chirping, no truck engine revving up nor the occasional whine from the pooch. I’m not used to it!

Goodbye my feathered friends and fur balls. Have a good life. We will definitely miss you (more than your masters).

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I Gotta Play

25 Jun

Official pet number one, Rooney, has been very demanding lately. Every evening, he would make it known, noisily, that he wants to play or rather chew on his latest toy.

And as if his evening play time is insufficient, this morning he had his way again, chewing happily on the orange chew toy.

When one has to play, one has to play, no ifs, ands or buts about it!

  

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Freedom!

17 Apr

I must admit the last two weeks has been quite a juggling act. Our maid went back to her country for her annual leave. This means our work schedule had to be juggled so that one of us would be home when M2 returns from school. On top of this, we had to ensure official pet number one, Rooney, is fed his dinner on the dot. So far, it’s mostly me going home early which is fine as I am hardly working anyway. I just go to the office.

And for the last two weeks, I have been more domesticated than ever! Every weekday evening, I would make dinner at home instead of us eating out. I actually cooked! And this is not just opening cans of food as before. It has been pretty healthy and full of variety. From Chinese stir fries and soup to grills and salad, the hubby and M2 are definitely well fed. I am pleased to say I have not lost my cooking skills.

Last night, the maid returned and freedom ensued! So off for a much deserved game of golf today! Yay.

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Hello Barney!

15 Dec

It was a Saturday morning and I was in the midst of a feel-good dream when hubby abruptly woke me up.

“Quick, wake up! Come see the owl in front of the house,” he said excitedly, urging me to wake up from my slumber.

Although I am quite an owl-lover (I collect the figurines), I was not pleased at being interrupted in my beauty sleep, what more, my feel-good dream. Eventually, I did wake up and went to check out the feathered visitor.

My, my! It was indeed a beautiful one. It looked like a domesticated but an escaped pet, its feathers very well groomed. And we were not sure how or why it ended up perched under the roof in the corner of our home but nonetheless, we thought it was a good omen. I mean, how often does one get a barn owl a-calling? I even took out the binoculars to have a close up look.

The little girl next door saw it too and aptly called it Barney (as in barn owl, get it?). So Barney hung with us the whole of Saturday. Every now and then, one of us would come out to check on it; it would lazily peek at us, sometimes turning only the head and other times, facing us frontal view and with a piercing stare. I was afraid it would fly off and took the pictures from afar, zooming in with the iPhone5S.

By evening, it was still perched there. M2 then wanted to know if we could keep it as a pet. As much as I would like to, I didn’t think it was possible and just considered it a good omen that it chose our home over the other houses.

However by nightfall, Barney was gone, in search of food and most likely a new place after the hunt. As Sunday came around, Barney never returned. I hope he has found a new place otherwise, our home is always open to him!
Owl1
Owl2

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Happy Birthday Roo!

11 Nov

Today my baby boy turns 7! Still a baby but of course in dog years, he’s a veteran. Over the years, he has given us joy, frustration, fun and love. Although fierce in looks, my baby is one drooling crinkly softy.

He enjoys drinking from the tap (I call this his enjoyment of draft water), loves orange-colored toys, must eat as well whenever he sees us eating and refuses to walk if possible.

How different our lives would be if we never had him! To our official pet number, Rooney, happy birthday and many more to come!

With one of his many orange-colored toys.

With one of his many orange-colored toys.

Roo8<a

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